A portion of the disclosure of this patent document and of the related applications listed above contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.
Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a self sealing cap, useful particularly for bottles with confectionery products.
The present invention is of a self sealing cap for covering and providing an opening to an object, the cap comprising: an object comprising an object opening therein; a cap assembly disposed on the object, the cap assembly comprising an aperture and a spring; the cap assembly and the object having a resting position wherein the object opening is closed; the cap assembly and the object having an open position when the object opening is opened through the cap assembly aperture; the cap assembly rotatable by a user exerting force on the cap assembly from the resting position about the object to align the object opening with the cap assembly aperture in the open position to allow material from the object to pass through both the object opening and the cap assembly aperture; and the spring providing automatic counter rotation of the cap assembly back to the original position to thereby close the object opening after the user removes force from the cap assembly. In the preferred embodiment, the object comprises a bottle and the object opening is the top of the object. The object opening may be to a side of a longitudinal axis of the object. The cap assembly may be integral with the object. The object opening is preferably circular, as is the cap assembly aperture. The cap assembly may be attached to the object. The cap assembly preferably further comprises a thumb wedge, wherein one end of the spring is disposed in the thumb wedge. The cap assembly may further comprise knurls, a central post around which the spring is disposed, and at least one rim upon which the spring is stopped in rotation. The cap assembly is preferably rotatable about a central axis of the cap, with the central axis of the cap being coaxial with a central longitudinal axis of the object. The spring is preferably housed in a recess in the cap assembly. A seal may be disposed between the object and the cap assembly, wherein the seal comprises an o-ring about the object opening.
The invention is also of a self sealing cap for covering and providing an opening to an object, the cap comprising: an object comprising an object opening therein; a cap assembly disposed on the object, the cap assembly comprising: a central axis; an aperture to a side of the central axis; a spring; a thumb wedge comprising one end of the spring disposed therein; at least one stop upon which rotation of the cap assembly is stopped; the cap assembly and the object having a resting position wherein the object opening is closed; the cap assembly and the object having an open position when the object opening is opened through the cap assembly aperture; the cap assembly rotatable about the central axis by a user exerting force on the thumb wedge from the resting position about the object to the stop to align the object opening with the cap assembly aperture in the open position to allow material from the object to pass through both the object opening and the cap assembly aperture; and the spring providing automatic counter rotation of the cap assembly back to another stop and the original position to thereby close the object opening after the user removes force from the thumb wedge. In the preferred embodiment, the object comprises a bottle and the object opening is a top of the object. The object opening may be to a side of a longitudinal axis of the object. The object opening is preferably circular, as is the cap assembly aperture. The cap assembly preferably further comprises a central post around which the spring is disposed.
The present invention is still further of a self-closing cap assembly for an opening in a container comprising: a cap assembly carried by the container including a rotatable cap having an aperture and a torsional spring; the cap assembly having a resting position wherein the container opening is closed and a dispensing position wherein the container opening is open; the cap movable by a user exerting force against the spring so as to move the cap from a resting position to an open position; and the spring rotating the cap back to the closed position when the user applies force less than a spring force. In the preferred embodiment, the cap additionally includes a thumb wing attached to one peripheral end of the cap for receiving rotational force from a user.
The object of the present invention is to provide a self sealing cap/lid for a container or other object.
Other objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow; taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.